


Houndmaster

by OakwoodOuroboros



Category: In a Heartbeat (Short Film)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, F/M, Gen, M/M, Norse AU, Prophecy, Ragnarok
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-29 22:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18303260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OakwoodOuroboros/pseuds/OakwoodOuroboros
Summary: He was pronounced the houndmaster, and that's what he was. He could have been nothing more to the prince than that, were the royal successor not to discover the secret of the boy's heart...





	Houndmaster

**Author's Note:**

  * For [athesisfilmdestroyedme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/athesisfilmdestroyedme/gifts).



> Ayyyyye this is for athesisfilmdestroyedme because you're so cool bruh

She was incredibly old. All around her, IV bags dripped life-sustaining liquid into her veins as she sat on her cushioned throne. The pieces not adorned by various pieces of medical equipment were tattooed or pierced: hog’s tusks, deer bones, the tooth of a sabre cat. Her fingernails were blue, the skin underneath tattooed a deep black, her initiation having involved the removal of her nails to give this visual effect. Her eyes were as milky as the white of a cooked egg.

The basket was set down at her feet, a newborn babe set inside, sleeping peacefully.

“Soothsayer, this is the son of Lόrdon Pious. As you can see, the child has hair of rust.”

Indeed, a shock of curly red hair sat on top of the small head peeking out of the basket. As all other children who were born with such a striking appearance, he had been brought to the Soothsayer, Seer of Worlds Unseen.

Somewhere in the guts of the building, a steam engine screamed shrilly, making all wince save for the babe and the blind woman.

“The world will end and be born anew,” she started, this part of the prophecy one that she had spoken countless times before. “The Serpent will let go of its tail, the tree that holds up the sky will fall through the Earth and all will be Chaos. But from Chaos is borne Order, and Order will be the brand new world where our souls will hunt and eat. Now bring me the fire-headed babe, and let me see what his future holds.”

The man who had spoken earlier got up from where he had been kneeling and picked up the child, who woke up crying. He was given to the woman, her worn old hands only making the babe cry harder in her iron grip. In anger, the child screamed louder, and taking hold of one of the IV tubes, pulled on it hard. The syringe popped out with blood and fluid, but as the people surrounding them  gasped in shock and nurses ran to help the Soothsayer, she raised a hand, and all froze in their footsteps.

“Houndmaster,” she whispered, and although the words were incredibly quiet, they could be heard throughout the mechanical castle. In every nook and cranny, in the dungeons as well as in the rooftops, the Soothsayer’s voice echoed with a certainty and solemnity that could have only been one of the God’s.

This was her last word before she collapsed forward, dead. The court started screaming once more. The Matriarch is dead, long live the Patriarch, prince Jonathan.


End file.
